I can't bring myself to rate this drama anything below 10 because that would be so unfair. Do you know how many a times people say, "You must watch this!". This is my official "YOU MUST WATCH THIS" drama. If you like sageuks even one bit, then do watch this once. I cannot convince everyone to sit through 62+ hours of drama viewing, because trust me- it terrified me as well. But how those 62 hours flew by I didn't realize it. Well, there are a lot of things that happen in this drama which you must have seen in other historical dramas as well. So what sets this apart from all the rest? I think the answer to that lies in the whole drama itself. After watching from ep 1 to 62 I realized that it is one of those dramas which need to be watched in entirety before one can fully appreciate it. This is a cleverly written drama. It has a nice script and all the right elements in it keep you engaged. For a drama to have that pull factor, the characters need to be fleshed out well. It is a cherry on the top when you also have the right actors to play these characters to make them more real. Here the cast is made up of actors I consider a class apart like Ko Hyung Jung and Kim Nam Gil. So of course, they HAD to be good. These two actors not only impressed me as usual but blew me away is the right way to put it. They probably took the drama to an entirely different level than it would have been otherwise. Apart from them, Lee Yo Won, Uhm Tae Woong and Yoo Seung Ho also did a great job. The cast seemed to have been chosen wisely and had great chemistry with each other. I would also like to mention Nam Ji Hyun here who did a spectacular job of playing the child version of Deokman and I daresay made more of a lasting impression than Lee Yo Won did. I have liked Nam Ji Hyun's previous portrayals as well and she never disappoints. I liked the entire span of the drama. Right from the historical events depicted in the beginning to the childhood episodes to the ending. Most Korean dramas (especially historic) are a disaster with their endings and here is one which did it right. All writers should take a clue on how to end a drama from this writer. The events were always flowing at the right pace and surprisingly- the melodrama in this was kept lower than I expected from such a long one. There is makjang in it but it somehow seemed smart makjang than something used as filler. I also loved how the drama focuses on its title. The queen is actually given importance and we get to see her be one. I loved Deokman's character. She was smart, flawed and strong. She always knew how to do the right thing and pulled out from every hole she fell into. Of course- she had two amazing guys beside her which made life better for her. Yushin is seen as nice, righteous and loyal. Bidam is sly, calculating, fierce, passionate and much in need of love. LOL. I can never ever forget Bidam's amazingness thanks to the almighty Kim Nam Gil. He made the character impossible not to love and made him so real to me that I felt his every pain and happiness as he did on-screen. I also loved Yushin but I prefer Bidam a bit more. Deokman was lucky enough to have such amazing guys who loved her more than anything. Although romance is not a central part of the drama, the dynamics between these three characters were exceptional. The fight scenes, costumes, sets, politics and battles always keep the drama going. There is a lot regarding the throne and battle for power in this drama. It will always make you question what is right and what is wrong and what is fair and what is not. It shows how big a burden power can be. This is the driving factor of the story in the later half. Plus, the characters are all so wonderfully messed up and tragic. They all have abandonment issues, mommy issues and what-not. They constantly go from good to bad and vice-versa, taking you on the crazy ride with them. The character development of Deokman and Bidam was phenomenal. I liked how Deokman acted like a ruler when she was one. She was pretty believable in her struggle to fit into the role of a queen. Now this brings me to the hotness called as Bidam. I wanted to hug him because of all that emotional baggage he seemed to carry with him. I have a thing for misunderstood bad boys like him. Mishil is one of my favourite antagonists ever now. She puts all Kdrama antagonists to shame with her badassery and cunning attitude. Others can only hope to be half as awesome as she was. The soundtrack of the drama is pretty good. The song 'Windflower' by IU has become one of my all-time favourites. The background score and ending score in the drama are brilliant. I can never forget the ending score. It will always bring back all the feelings and memories. I can go on talking about this drama and it will never end. LOL. So let's just end it here and go watch the drama if my point of view convinced you even one bit. :D